New Zealand All Blacks high performance head Don Tricker confirms move to the San Diego Padres

Don Tricker says it is “very humbling” to become the first New Zealander to work in high performance for a Major League Baseball club, but leaving the All Blacks was a tough decision.

Tricker, a two-time world champion New Zealand Black Sox men’s softball coach, will become the San Diego Padres’ director of player health and performance after seven years as New Zealand Rugby’s head of high performance.

The 56-year-old was shoulder-tapped by the Padres in late October after doing some consultancy work for them following the MLB club’s visit to New Zealand to study the All Blacks’ winning formula.

Don Tricker is leaving New Zealand Rugby for Major League Baseball.

“I love what I do here – it’s a great organisation with great people – and at the end of the day it was a very difficult decision to leave New Zealand Rugby (NZR) and join the Padres, and it’s been pretty tough to actually explain.

“But not many New Zealanders get an opportunity to work in a high-level American sport which is incredibly competitive.